The KSE-100 had a gloomy period with trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), dropping significantly on Wednesday to close at 46,716.72 after falling by 174.62 points or 0.37 percent. The index rose about 60 points during intra-day trading and got very close to 47,000 before heading back down after investors started dumping their shares. An intra-day low of 46,505.13 was reached after the index fell. The PKR-USD parity slipped further to approach 169.70 in interbank trading, then breached 170 in the open market.” The justification for local mutual funds liquidating their holdings on the pretense of redemptions coincided with unmitigated foreign selling. Interloop Limited (ILP) has just reported its financial results for the last quarter of FY21, recording earnings of Rs1,689 million and a share price of Rs1.94. The KSE-100 benchmark index declined, with a decrease in cement (77.42 points), oil and gas exploration (21.96 points), and textile composite stocks (20.98 points) (19.57 points). The number of shares on the All-Share Index fell on Wednesday from 479.79 million to 332.79 million. Stocks traded dropped in value as well, to Rs11.44 billion from Rs15.04 billion. The three biggest holders of Byco Petroleum shares were TPL Corp Limited (29.62 million shares), Telecard Limited (28.26 million shares), and Sunkish Petrochemicals (23.29 million shares). On Wednesday, 518 stocks were traded, of which 161 rose, 329 fell, and 28 were unchanged. Agencies add: Among scrips, TPL led the volumes table with 29.62 million shares, followed by TELE (28.26 million) and BYCO (23.29 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TPL, TELE, BYCO, SERFR and WTL, which around 36 percent of total volumes. Sector wise, the index was let down by cement with 83 points, textile composite with 22 points, pharmaceuticals with 21 points, oil and gas exploration companies with 20 points and investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies with 18 points. The most points taken off the index were by MLCF which stripped the index of 21 points followed by HMB with 18 points, SYS with 17 points, AGP with 17 points and MEBL with 16 points. The sectors propping up the index were commercial banks with 45 points, fertilizer with 17 points, technology and communication with six points, insurance with 4 points and leather and tanneries with two points. The most points added to the index was by UBL which contributed 30 points followed by TRG with 22 points, FFBL with 16 points, BAHL with 15 points and FABL with 12 points. According to experts, following a collapse of Pakistani rupee against the US dollar that closed at new low of Rs169.12 in the interbank market, the capital market witnessed the selling pressure throughout the trading session. Unabated foreign selling coincided with local mutual funds disposing positions on the pretext of redemptions, as per the market closing note by Arif Habib Limited. Industrial output grows by 2.25pc in July: The Large Scale Manufacturing Industries’ (LSMI) production grew by 2.25 percent during the first month of the current fiscal year (July) as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. The LSMI Quantum Index Number (QIM) was recorded at 138.01 points during July 2021 against 134.97 points during July 2020, showing growth of 2.25 percent, according to latest PBS data. The highest increase of 1.57 percent was witnessed in the indices monitored by the Provincial Boards of Statistics (PBoS), followed by 0.89 percent increase in indices monitored by the Ministry of Industries. However, the indices monitored by Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) witnessed negative growth of 0.22 percent. The major sectors that showed positive growth during July 2021 included textile (0.35pc), food, beverages and tobacco (0.09pc), pharmaceuticals (0.84pc), chemicals (0.36pc), automobiles (2.10pc), iron and steel products (0.42pc), fertilizers (0.22pc), electronics (0.05pc), leather products (0.10pc) and engineering products (0.01pc). On the other hand, the LSM industries that witnessed negative growth in July 2021 included electronics coke and petroleum products (0.22pc), non-metallic mineral products (1.56pc), paper and board (0.32pc) and rubber products (0.18pc). On a month-on-month basis, the industrial production declined by 5.03 percent during July compared to the growth of 145.32 points during June 2020, the data revealed.